Video: Was last night’s big winner Marco Rubio?

posted at 11:21 am on November 7, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

The appalling exit polls from yesterday’s loss shows a huge problem for Republicans in the shifting demographics of the nation. Mitt Romney won 58% of the white vote, but didn’t even hit 30% among any of the non-white demographics in the electorate, which comprised 28% of the overall vote. Barack Obama won 69% of the Latino vote, which will only grow from its present 10% in coming years. Mike Huckabee blasted the GOP’s efforts at outreach on Fox News last night:

“What do you make of the racial divide we are seeing in vote totals,” Megyn Kelly asked.

“I don’t see it as all that shocking. I mean, typically, people of color tend to vote Democratic anyway,” Huckabee began.

“I think Republicans have done a pathetic job of reaching out to people of color – something we have to work on,” Huckabee continued. “Republicans have acted like they can’t get the vote, so they don’t try. And the result is that they don’t get the vote.”

Following ABC’s declaration of President Barack Obama’s re-election, Will explained that the GOP will look to Rubio to lead the party and expand its demographic appeal.

Obama “did close with a kick and both sides fought a gallant fight,” Will said. “Mitt Romney had a problem — I think Nicole [Wallace], you were talking about. During the Republican nominating process, the party turned first to one person and then to another to try and avoid what turned out to be inevitable.”

“If there’s a winner tonight, it’s the senator from Florida, Marco Rubio. Because all eyes are now going to be turned to him as a man who might have a way to broaden the demographic appeal of this party.”

Earlier this morning, I wrote that the GOP needs to find new leadership, new voices, and most importantly new approaches to conservatism that will allow a broader range of voters to relate to its core values. Of all the players we have on the bench, Rubio is clearly the best we have for that role. We discussed this last night on the Hugh Hewitt Show when Dennis Prager joined us by phone just as Ohio got called for Obama. Prager insisted that the Republican Party’s next leader needs to be Rubio, who represents and explains the core values of conservatism better than any other Republican at the national level, and who understands how to relate it to a broader range of voters.

Unfortunately, it was too early in Rubio’s national career to move forward in 2012. By 2016, he will have one term in the Senate, with a background as House Speaker in the Florida legisature. Will that be enough for credibility as a national candidate? Actually, I’m less concerned with 2016 as I am with the four years in between. We just can’t wait for the next presidential election to start rebuilding the direction of conservatism.

We need to offer a new approach to policy that remains in line with our core values, too. Matt Lewis argues today that Republicans have to start by choosing new leadership, but also choosing new “followship” as well by putting a substantial change in approach on the table:

As I’ve written before, Republicans must find a way to appeal to cosmopolitan conservatives. A modern political party cannot exist if it concedes the young, the urban, and the educated.

Some of this can be fixed through style and aesthetics. Football teams get new uniforms. Political parties can likewise benefit from repackaging. But there should clearly be some actual soul searching as well.

There will be a push to nominate a candidate who, at least, symbolically “fixes” this problem. Marco Rubio would be an obvious selection. But making the substantive changes won’t just require leadership, it will also require followship.

After two successive and significant national-election losses, it’s quite obvious that what Republicans and conservatives have done hasn’t worked. I’m reminded at this juncture of Jack Kemp, who should have had a brighter future, and who worked diligently to make conservatism relevant not just to affluent suburbanites but also to struggling urban voters. Rubio has that quality as well, but as Matt writes, it won’t work unless we start offering creative solutions along with better salesmanship.

Blowback

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We did it in ’08 and we did it again this year. We got too cute by half and prognositcated ourselves into believing things which weren’t there. Nate, Gumbypoker, the MSM, and the RCP average proved all too real versus “D oversample.” Why did so many GOPer’s stay home this time? Turns out that Axelrod was right and the stunts into Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin and Minnesota were all just window dressing rather than based on positive movement.

Why so many showed up for the mid-terms and then turned around to sit on their butts for the POTUS race I don’t get. But they did.

I you had told me that Obama would lose 10 million voters in this election I would have bet the house on him losing. Strange indeed.

And that is why we keep losing…we focus on the “boogeyman” under the bed…pal, Mormon had nothing to do with it.

Mitt lost it because, after the first debate, he became defensive, he didn’t keep attacking, he just gave good speeches.

Obama’s ground game was stronger, so that had to be offset with something better than being a nice guy…his surrogates were weak…who countered Reid? Who stood up and attacked Reid? Who stood up to Wasserman, or Pelosi, no one, he didn’t have any bulldogs, no pitbulls, just lipstick.

right2bright on November 7, 2012 at 11:48 AM

3 millions Republican voters from 2008 would not stay home because they disagree with Romney on the style of the campaign knowing what we have at stake in this elections… However 3 million Evangelical would do so because he is Mormon… In fact based on history they also did it in 2000 when 5 million of them stayed home because of Bush very old DUI thing right before the elections…

We did it in ’08 and we did it again this year. We got too cute by half and prognositcated ourselves into believing things which weren’t there. Nate, Gumbypoker, the MSM, and the RCP average proved all too real versus “D oversample.” Why did so many GOPer’s stay home this time? Turns out that Axelrod was right and the stunts into Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin and Minnesota were all just window dressing rather than based on positive movement.

Why so many showed up for the mid-terms and then turned around to sit on their butts for the POTUS race I don’t get. But they did.

I you had told me that Obama would lose 10 million voters in this election I would have bet the house on him losing. Strange indeed.

JoeinTX on November 7, 2012 at 11:51 AM

if you want to talk turnout 10 millions Obama voters from 2008 stayed home in 2012… Only 3 millions of Republican voters from 2008 stayed home in 2012… No one would have expected this to happen on our side, not a single one… But it did happen… So the D+6 in the polls did not measure the turnout but rather was a fluke once our 3 millions voters did not show up… They are the Evangelical voters who would never vote for a Mormon…

If you care about the latino vote, keep in mind that its overwhelmingly catholic. What has the Republican Party offered religious and social conservatives in this campaign? Im actually not much of a SoCon, but when the party acts as if social issues are distractions at best or a reason for shame at worst, why would social conservatives bother to vote?

The Republican Party is not a libertarian party and if we neglect social issues we risk pi**ing off a constituency that won us Ohio in 2004.

I think we will see that it was SoCons staying home that cost us the election, because we didnt offer them any reason to vote FOR us.

Oh Come ON!
Y’all are pandering to non(Euro)whites. That’s exactly what sleazy Dems DO!
Rubio is a nobody. He’s also a stealth liberal – haven’t you noticed yet?
America needs a real man to lead this country, not a gaggle of blog-anointed wannabes who have little to no experience in the military or foreign affairs.
Y’all just keep this up and conservatives will never take back OUR country!
2016, my glorious glutes. The GOP establishment will keep force-feeding y’all pablum.
~(Ä)~

Do you even read? The NE and the Pacific coast are the engines of this entire economy. When are they going red? Never. That’s where all the federal taxes come from you ignorant.

tommyhawk on November 7, 2012 at 11:43 AM

Here’s the rub, dude: Northeast and California act like a pump that sucks money out of the country. I know that because, working for Big Pharma, I (with my hefty six-digit job) am part of that pump. If my job is eliminated today – nah, if the whole industry goes under, along with big banks – Americans will only live better.

Please cut us off. I personally would like to dissolve the union and create two separate countries. We’ll take the midwest, southeast, alaska and the gulf coast and you guys can have the rest.

darwin on November 7, 2012 at 11:51 AM

Haha! So you’d like to go from living in the most productive country in the hemisphere to the 4th just because you don;t like Barry? By the way-that wasteland filled with cows and fracking is not the mid west. But you can have it. Enjoy Alabammy and Oklahoma they are filled with the best and the brightest.

Why so many showed up for the mid-terms and then turned around to sit on their butts for the POTUS race I don’t get. But they did.

JoeinTX on November 7, 2012 at 11:51 AM

You’re on the right track but there is a fundamental flaw with this and it’s a deadly one: It’s that people who showed up at the midterms sat on their butts for the POTUS race, it’s that people who sat on their butts for the midterms showed up for the POTUS race. That’s why we lost and that’s the whole point Ed is trying to make!

Sorry, but you can’t just dress conservatism up in a “brown suit” and sell it to Hispanics. They’re not stupid enough to fall for that.

You want Hispanic votes – you’re gonna have to address comprehensive immigration reform. You’re gonna have to come to grips with the cold fact that you can’t possibly deport 22 million illegals. The best you can do – is take the issue on so that reform is done on YOUR grounds. Otherwise – you’ll be shut out of the national dialog.

Rubio? Yeah I like him – but he is no Hispanic savior to the GOP and anyone who thinks he is very racially shallow minded.

Everyone here, and I do mean everyone, who’s advocating running Rubio in 2016 simply because he’s Hispanic is as pathetic as those who voted for Barack “because he’s black”, including those who suffer from white guilt. Is that the level the GOP has stooped to? No wonder I left the Party.

And yes, I’m Latino, and I vote, but not based on someone’s ethnicity.

Not sure about your intent but promoting the individual as the ultimate minority, as well as promoting individual freedom can grab votes. yes it might upset those that hate the thought of gays marrying or some 23 year old smoking pot but guess what people…that’s already happening. I might not understand gay marriage or polygamy but I understand that free adults should have the right to live their lives.

After two successive and significant national-election losses, it’s quite obvious that what Republicans and conservatives have done hasn’t worked.

Here’s something that might work…getting our own freakin’ side to get to the polls and vote. If the folks who are in the party now aren’t motivated to get out and vote against one of the worst presidents ever, good luck getting the brown people to go out and vote for one of our candidates….especially when they’re more aligned with the other party. Sorry, ain’t gonna happen.

Haha! So you’d like to go from living in the most productive country in the hemisphere to the 4th just because you don;t like Barry? By the way-that wasteland filled with cows and fracking is not the mid west. But you can have it. Enjoy Alabammy and Oklahoma they are filled with the best and the brightest.

tommyhawk on November 7, 2012 at 11:57 AM

It’s not that I don’t like Barry … he’s really swell. It’s just that Barry doesn’t like me. Thanks for being so accomodating. When will you guys be ready to place the libs leaving here?

[...] Romney’s defeat has given Republicans an opportunity to reconsider their most politically toxic commitments: a foreign policy of endless war, and tax policies that most directly benefit the rich. It would be a shame to squander that opportunity by searching for a perfect messenger for the same old message.

What I ask is if Obama had been a Republican, would he have won in the first place? I don’t think so. Its not about race, its about the Media. Lets face it. The left controls the media and no matter how horrendous an act a Democrat commits, it isn’t covered on the news. Look at some of the recent news stories that, in the past, would have sunk any president, for example:

The open mic with the Russian Pres.
Fast and Furious
Libya
Hurricane Sandy coverage (oh and thank you Chris Christie for your endorsement of Obama)

If folks don’t get the information, then they cant make a valid decision. And this doesn’t include the general Negative bias towards anything conservative or republican.

Not sure about your intent but promoting the individual as the ultimate minority, as well as promoting individual freedom can grab votes. yes it might upset those that hate the thought of gays marrying or some 23 year old smoking pot but guess what people…that’s already happening. I might not understand gay marriage or polygamy but I understand that free adults should have the right to live their lives.

MoreLiberty on November 7, 2012 at 12:00 PM

I’m liberterainish so I see what you mean. But it will be narrated as egoism when you “deny access” to free stuff.

I think making this about bigotry is somewhat simplistic. The values voting block wasnt given any reason to vote Republican in this campaign. The question is: Did Willard hesitate to appeal to values voters because he feared that this would put the spotlight on his religion?

You’re on the right track but there is a fundamental flaw with this and it’s a deadly one: It’s that people who showed up at the midterms sat on their butts for the POTUS race, it’s that people who sat on their butts for the midterms showed up for the POTUS race. That’s why we lost and that’s the whole point Ed is trying to make!

That’s a good point. However, if we’d just maintained McCain’s vote totals last night the GOP would have won. How McCain fired up and inspired the base more than Romney/Ryan is beyond me. Hard to believe it was the Mormon issue, but, maybe so.

All that said, I don’t think simply running Rubio next time is the answer.

You’re no better. On the list of things that determined the outcome last night “Bush-style foreign policies” doesn’t even register. That would be like the Brady Campaign saying this election shows Americans are really serious about gun control.

Why so many showed up for the mid-terms and then turned around to sit on their butts for the POTUS race I don’t get. But they did.

JoeinTX on November 7, 2012 at 11:51 AM

They showed up for the midterms because the Tea Party was convinced the GOP had actually CHANGED.

John Boehner and Mitch McConnell (and John Cornyn of the NRSC) took that win in 2010 and sh1t ALL OVER the Tea Party enthusiasm.

1. Right after the win in 2010, Boehner stood before CPAC in February of 2011 and said these words … “Next week, we will cut $150 BILLION dollars out of this budget … WRITE THAT DOWN – $150 billion and we aren’t stopping there”.

The very next week – he passed only $60 Billion in cuts.

A few weeks later – he parlayed that down to less than $30 Billion with Obama.

After the deal was made – it was revealed that Boehner had actually only cut about $500 MILLION from the FY budget.

Boehner … LIED.

2. Then the debt ceiling came along. GOP Ayatollahs told us … “Ah yeah, that’s why we caved on the $150 BILLION in cuts this year – because we’re REALLY going to stick it to Obama on the debt ceiling!!” GOP asked for modest cuts – Obama refused. A stalemate ensued – and the GOP ended up CAVING to Obama again.

3. They have enough information on Fast And Furious to begin Impeachment proceedings against Ogabe – they haven’t done it.

4. And everyone knows they won’t do a damn thing about Benghazi.

The GOP is A VERY BAD BET. Tea Party folks said … “WTF, we vote and donate – and nothing happens when they win”.

Cornyn sh1t all over the Tea Party candidates. Refused to help Todd Akin (a real conservative) in MO while he spent millions on Snottie Brown in Mass – who got his ass handed to him by a FAKE INDIAN!

It’s the GOP Ayatollahs that caused this loss by zapping all the enthusiasm out of the 2010 elections. Fire them – and you’ll get the enthusiasm back.

The Democrats are probably looking to 2016 even as Obama celebrates his re-election. Given the nature of the campaign cycle, 2016 may be four years away chronologically, but in political years, it’s more like two years away.

That’s a good point. However, if we’d just maintained McCain’s vote totals last night the GOP would have won. How McCain fired up and inspired the base more than Romney/Ryan is beyond me. Hard to believe it was the Mormon issue, but, maybe so.

All that said, I don’t think simply running Rubio next time is the answer.

For Democrats, pulling together, and coordinating, is instinctual. For Republicans, it’s not. And too many Republicans are too stupid to recognize the long term political value of single-mindedness, and when it’s time (in the process) to employ single-mindedness. Democrats spoke with one voice–their presidential candidate’s voice–and Republicans didn’t.

My Electoral Vote map ended up being 100% correct despite making the prediction before Nate Silver listed it as leaning blue, and my Popular Vote prediction is very close to coming true too (Obama’s at around 2.5% ahead of Romney right now with the majority of unreported precincts in Democratic states, mainly California)

I’m glad that people came around. I was probably a jerk last night and the weeks leading up making fun of the insular nature of this site but I recognize that you all love this country same as we do, just in a different way. I feel that the election is a cautionary tale of only receiving your news from a single source or only from people that support your own beliefs, it creates an information vacuum.

I was hard on Ed for it this cycle but it’s true, he cherry picks material to support his cause because he himself is a true believer in it. Allahpundit was surprisingly disappointing in this cycle however. He was the main reason I started reading the site all those years back as he was conservative but honest about where things stood, moreover he knew and respected Silver’s model and would bring it up all the time in spite of you guys’ protests in the comments. That didn’t happen this time. So yeah, if you read HotAir/RedState or whatever else also consider TalkingPointsMemo or some equivalent to know where the other side is at. You’ll get a much fuller picture, although Democrats appear to be “eeyoreish” even when they’re winning so you have to watch out for that too.

I’m already sick of the calls for who the GOP is going to run in 2016. The top story here today should be titled “Now What?” I mean, what is Obama going to do now that he is in the exact same situation he’s been in for the past 2 years with a Republican controlled House? What is the plan now? The campaign is over. What’s his agenda now?

VinceOfDoom on November 7, 2012 at 11:33 AM

Doesn’t matter anymore anyway – Obamacare is now the of permanent law of the land. Without one’s health, one has nothing.

Running Rubio next time simply wouldn’t work as the liberals will just call Rubio the “token Hispanic” for the Republican party, just like Cain was the “token black guy” and Bachmann was the “token female”.

And yes, the Media is biased. Whether you like it or not. New media and social media has kinda been a counter force to the liberal media, but it can only do so much.

Instead of always complaining about media and how biased it is (and in these last couple of weeks, a lot of conservatives were doing that, especially in regards to polls), you should find a way to deal with it. Cause 4 years from now, the media will still be biased, and 8 years from now the media will still be biased, and complaining about it and just sticking to FOX won’t change the rest of the media.

For chrissake, just let everyone who wants to be here in. Put the goddamn fence up, electrify it, and fill the moat with gators to stop the terrorists and outright felons, but make a wide gate so everyone else could come to work. All you need is to kill the free cheese that lures the bums!

My Electoral Vote map ended up being 100% correct despite making the prediction before Nate Silver listed it as leaning blue, and my Popular Vote prediction is very close to coming true too (Obama’s at around 2.5% ahead of Romney right now with the majority of unreported precincts in Democratic states, mainly California)

I’m glad that people came around. I was probably a jerk last night and the weeks leading up making fun of the insular nature of this site but I recognize that you all love this country same as we do, just in a different way. I feel that the election is a cautionary tale of only receiving your news from a single source or only from people that support your own beliefs, it creates an information vacuum.

I was hard on Ed for it this cycle but it’s true, he cherry picks material to support his cause because he himself is a true believer in it. Allahpundit was surprisingly disappointing in this cycle however. He was the main reason I started reading the site all those years back as he was conservative but honest about where things stood, moreover he knew and respected Silver’s model and would bring it up all the time in spite of you guys’ protests in the comments. That didn’t happen this time. So yeah, if you read HotAir/RedState or whatever else also consider TalkingPointsMemo or some equivalent to know where the other side is at. You’ll get a much fuller picture, although Democrats appear to be “eeyoreish” even when they’re winning so you have to watch out for that too.

All right, I’ll bite: What do Hispanics want? (no taco jokes, please). I’m guessing better schools and immigration reform, which folds into a larger thing they want: respect. I’m guessing they feel looked down upon because of the illegal immigration issue. That’s only a guess; someone else may know better. But since most Hispanic values I know of align well with Republican values (respect for family, hard work, upward mobility), this is a demographic the R’s should not be losing 70/30.

As for what African Americans want, I confess I am at a loss. That community seems to put racial identity ahead of demonstrated success or even self interest (and it didn’t start with Obama; what else explains the continued political success of Coleman Young and Marion Barry?). But Bush appointing blacks to major Administration positions didn’t change 90% Democratic support in that cohort, and even black conservatives seem unable to pierce the cocoon, so there must be some social or ideological component. And I don’t think adjusting a policy here or there is going to change that.

The ONLY way any Republcan will Ever win the white house is to have a Hispanic atheist women for Prez and a black lesbian woman for vice Prez run…and they have to be married to each other…and smoke dope.

Do people really think Rubio will get Latino votes because of his race? He’ll only get those votes by being progressive. I’m not sure if being black or Latino or a woman has helped any conservative candidates get any liberal votes.

This is madness. If the Republican party’s solution is to just be like the Democrats, then I am out. We should not do like they do and try to get these disparate groups of people to vote as a monolithic voting bloc. We should go after individuals.

The problem really is, there are more takers than makers. As the country goes “brown”, the people seem to want more and more “free” stuff. All you liberals will eventually regret last night, but don’t dare look to us. It’ll be too late then. Unfortunately, your celebration today is at the expense of my family’s freedoms. Enjoy the dance around the carcass. Go rape and pillage the wealthy. You’ll quickly find the savior you really needed was Capitalism, and you enabled it’s death.

Errr, Gumby and pokeme predicted a big Obama wim. Ed and Allah predicted a razor thin race. It was a razor thin race.

sheikh of thornton on November 7, 2012 at 12:13 PM

This little echo chamber was constantly predicting a massive anti-Obama vote that would sweep Ham Sandwich into the WH. Meanwhile a lot of us realist conservatives were constantly shouted down as trolls merely for pointing out that nominating Romney had defeat baked into it. You were wrong, I and they were right in everything except the margin of victory for Obama (speaking of which, to the guy with whom I had the wager: email me at teejuss AT hotmail DOT com).

This’ll serve as my last comment at this site. The transformation of the place over the past year and a half into some sort of MittbotA$$holeCentral has been too much. Au revoir.

“The test of fascism is not one’s rage against the Italian and German war lords. The test is — how many of the essential principles of fascism do you accept and to what extent are you prepared to apply those fascist ideas to American social and economic life? When you can put your finger on the men or the groups that urge for America the debt-supported state, the autarkical corporative state, the state bent on the socialization of investment and the bureaucratic government of industry and society, the establishment of the institution of militarism as the great glamorous public-works project of the nation and the institution of imperialism under which it proposes to regulate and rule the world and, along with this, proposes to alter the forms of our government to approach as closely as possible the unrestrained, absolute government — then you will know you have located the authentic fascist.

“But let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that we are dealing by this means with the problem of fascism. Fascism will come at the hands of perfectly authentic Americans, as violently against Hitler and Mussolini as the next one, but who are convinced that the present economic system is washed up and that the present political system in America has outlived its usefulness and who wish to commit this country to the rule of the bureaucratic state; interfering in the affairs of the states and cities; taking part in the management of industry and finance and agriculture; assuming the role of great national banker and investor, borrowing millions every year and spending them on all sorts of projects through which such a government can paralyze opposition and command public support; marshaling great armies and navies at crushing costs to support the industry of war and preparation for war which will become our greatest industry; and adding to all this the most romantic adventures in global planning, regeneration, and domination all to be done under the authority of a powerfully centralized government in which the executive will hold in effect all the powers with Congress reduced to the role of a debating society. There is your fascist. And the sooner America realizes this dreadful fact the sooner it will arm itself to make an end of American fascism masquerading under the guise of the champion of democracy.”
– John T. Flynn, As We Go Marching, 1944

i’m really tired of this “expand the tent” nonsense. as long as the dems give minorities free stuff, they aren’t going anywhere. minorities are perfectly content to get free stuff and live the lower class life, they aren’t looking for a better life!!

so what is the republican party going to offer them???

the people who think it’s the republican party’s fault for not reaching out to minorities have never lived around, or worked with minorities. many look down at those who try to achieve; you’re considered stuck up if you want to go to college. peer pressure is keeping minorities down, not the republican party.

You’re right, there’s no point. I guess this will be the last time you comment on politics, then? I mean, it’s all useless at this point…

ernesto on November 7, 2012 at 12:18 PM

My point is what will change? Cuomo will blame Republicans for the state of the country, call Republicans racist for daring to say anything about it and tell the ignorant masses that the misery they’re feeling is really joy so elect him for four more years of it … and they will.